* Nice * 4x4 * Loaded * Rustfree * Clean * Tow * Winch * Serviced on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Suzuki bringing compact iV-4 to Frankfurt

Even though American Suzuki Motor Corporation filed for bankruptcy last year and stopped selling cars in the US and Canada as part of its reorganization, there are still plenty of countries around the world where Suzuki continues to sell autos. For those markets, the automaker is working on a compact sport-utility vehicle, called the iV-4, which will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
Suzuki says the iV-4 "embodies the basic ruggedness of an SUV," and that its styling is modern and innovative. We'll have to take Suzuki's word on that one, though the teaser above certainly looks the part, with the grille reminding us of the one found on the Jeep Grand Cherokee (minus a few slats, of course).
Scroll down for the short-and-sweet press release, and expect the full brace of information to be revealed in September.

Court approves Suzuki bankruptcy plan

Suzuki has won approval for its Chapter 11 plan to stop selling cars in the US and concentrate instead on the company's powersports products. Judge Scott C. Clarkson of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California approved the plan after the company's creditors agreed to the conditions.
Suzuki will now sell its motorcycle, ATV and marine divisions to the newly minted Suzuki Motor of America subsidiary under the Suzuki name. The new company will be wholly owned by Suzuki Motor Company. This is the final piece of the company's restructuring puzzle.
The company says it will now be able to grow its powersports businesses here in the US and also provide auto parts and service to current Suzuki owners through what's left of the company's dealer network. You can check out the brief press release on the bankruptcy plan below.

Suzuki back in MotoGP for 2015

It had been planned for 2014 but it's going to be 2015 instead - that's when Suzuki returns to the manufacturer ranks of MotoGP after quitting the series at the end of 2011 because of The Great Recession. When Suzuki stopped after 37 continuous years of racing, it said it intended to return three years later and it has been in talks with MotoGP's rights holder, Dorna Sports, since last year. No doubt, though, that fan anticipation of the team's return outdoes any dismay at the delay. It will join Yamaha, Honda and Ducati in the premiere league.
Its bike has already been testing in Japan and was with the official MotoGP tribe in Barcelona, Spain on Monday when Suzuki announced its return. It's said the development bike is called the XRH-1, being ridden by official tester Randy de Puniet (who currently races in MotoGP on an Aprilia-based bike with TeamAspar). and after a day of testing de Puniet got the new Suzuki to within seven-tenths of a second of the top time posted by other MotoGP teams. Davide Brivio, who once ran the Fiat-Yamaha team and has been close with Valentino Rossi, will be the team manager.
Speaking of Rossi, The Doctor is back with Fiat-Yamaha after a bad run with Ducati but is only contracted to the end of 2014. Brivio is the man who got Rossi to join Fiat-Yamaha, then got him to Ducati. Until he took the head of Suzuki's works effort, Brivio was working with Rossi's VR46 management company, heading areas like merchandising. The rumormill has already begun its work, with folks wondering if Rossi will head to Suzuki in 2015 if his second stint at Yamaha doesn't prove fruitful before then. Scroll down below for the official press release from Suzuki.